FRANCISSWIM - WATER SPORTS: March 2020

Monday, March 30, 2020

Introducing Swimming at Home by Swimming New Zealand

No pool? No problem!
Whilst we stay at home during this lockdown period, we must keep active! Swimming New Zealand introduces Swimming at Home; a campaign to keep the swimming community connected and supported during this unpredictable time.
The pools may be closed but we are all in this together! #NoPoolNoProblem
It is without a doubt, presently, incredibly stressful times. Your mental health is equally as important as your physical health and we must try to manage our stress as much we possibly can. Below are some tips on looking after yourself:

NUTRITION TIPS
Good hygiene is at the top of everyone’s priority, as it should be but there are also some easy daily food habits that can be practised to help strengthen and maintain your immune system. Here are some key nutrients and foods which will support your immune function and help to keep you as healthy and as strong as possible!

SNZ WORK OUTS
Below are some workouts you can easily do at home. If your swimming club has its own work out programmes, let us know!
We would love to feature a different club each week to share what everyone has been up to and how they are getting on with Swimming at Home. We are all one big swimming community after all and we're all in this together!

TIPS FROM ALASTAIR

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Pipefly gives you unforgettable tours and leisure experiences. If Portugal is your destination, then we are definitely “memory maker”. Pipefly will provide you with: Logistic support while you are training or competing in Cascais Region. Moments of relax, to you and your family, through different experiences, hiking in Natural Park, surf or sailing… Cultural tours for visiting this amazing region. For more information please contact us! Read More https://francisswim.blogspot.com/2019/12/swim-in-cascais-portugal.html

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Sunday, March 29, 2020

2020 Groupe Copley World Triathlon Montreal postponed

On March 26, 2020, the Government of Canada issued an order limiting the entry of most foreign travelers into Canada until June 30, 2020. Given the international nature of the Groupe Copley World Triathlon, and the nationality of many of its officials and participants from over 40 countries, the Montreal International Triathlon, Triathlon Canada and World Triathlon are compelled to postpone the Groupe Copley World Triathlon to a later date in 2020. The event was to take place from June 23 to 28, at the Grand Quai du Port de Montréal.
The Montreal International Triathlon and World Triathlon will continue to monitor closely the world, provincial and federal health authorities’ position on the spread of the virus and fully respect the difficult decisions that have been made, and that continue to be made. We are committed to the health and safety of the athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators.
Many stakeholders may be affected by the postponement of the Groupe Copley World Triathlon, and the Montreal International Triathlon organisation and World Triathlon will be communicating directly with each group in the coming days. Any participant who has registered will receive details on the postponement process in due course over the following days.
The Montreal International Triathlon, in partnership with Triathlon Canada, Triathlon Quebec and all our partners, are looking forward to host this 5th edition of the Groupe Copley World Triathlon in Montreal, in 2020. We thank you all for your efforts and commitment and are as committed as ever to deliver a world-class event and hope that to see you all with us soon.

World Triathlon statement after the meeting of the Executive Board

With the uncertainty and challenging times that the COVID-19 outbreak is bringing to the whole world, the Executive Board of World Triathlon met again this Thursday to analyse the situation, discuss the future of the events and calendar and work on different scenarios. The Board also created a Financial Group and a Communications Group to analyse the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak and to guarantee that all stakeholders are informed of all measures in the most effective way.
With the World Triathlon calendar and all activities currently suspended until April 30th, and the Olympic and Paralympic Qualification rankings suspended until the end of the current period, the decision of the Board is to maintain the situation the decision of the Board is to maintain the situation, working closely with all the Organising Committees for the rest of the 2020 season, studying each case individually. With the situation changing by the hour in every country, it is at this moment too early to take further decisions, and communication will be done as soon as decisions can be made for each individual events, always putting the health and safety of all athletes, coaches, teams, officials and staff as our foremost priority.
The Executive Board expressed their total support to the IOC and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee’s joint-decision to postpone the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 until next year, in order to safeguard the health and well-being of participating athletes and everyone involved. World Triathlon also supports the subsequent decision of the International Paralympic Committee to postpone as well the Paralympic Games to 2021.
The World Triathlon Board and staff are now working closely with the local organisers, National Federations, Continental Confederations, IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 and all the stakeholders to make all the necessary adjustments to all the events. Regular meetings will take place in the next weeks with all the Continental Confederations to coordinate rescheduling the events.
The thoughts of the World Triathlon family are now with everyone impacted by the virus around the world, and we hope to see you all out there on the blue carpet in the near future. In the meantime, we recommend everyone to follow the WHO and local health authorities’ recommendations, and to stay at home.
Credits International Triathlon Union

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Valencia World Cup and Mixed Relay qualification event postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak

Following the instructions of the health authorities in Spain, the Spanish National Federation has communicated to World Triathlon the impossibility to hold the Valencia Mixed Relay Olympic Qualification event and the Valencia World Cup, due to take place on May 1st and 2nd. As a consequence of this, the races have been postponed. World Triathlon and the delivery partners will work to find new dates for both events, which will be communicated as soon as agreed.
With the Coronavirus outbreak spreading in many countries, and the number of affected persons increasing dramatically in Spain, and with the country in almost complete lockdown to avoid spreading even further the virus, it was impossible for the organisers to continue with the operations and planning for the event.
The health and safety of athletes, coaches, officials, staff, volunteers and spectators are of paramount importance for everyone in World Triathlon. The International Federation is now working closely with all stakeholders, as well as many organisers, to reschedule events when the fairness and safety of all athletes and teams are guaranteed.
It is also with great regret that World Triathlon and FISU have to announce the cancellation of the 2020 World University Triathlon Championship that should have taken place from 27 to 28 June in Kecskemet (Hungary).
The thoughts of the World Triathlon family, as well as the Spanish Federation and the organizing committee and local authorities, are now with everyone suffering around the world. We wish you safety and good health and hope to, in the near future, see you on the blue carpet. In the meantime, we recommend that you follow the WHO and local health authorities instructions, and stay at home.
Credits International Triathlon Union

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Paralympics Ireland Welcome Tokyo2020 Paralympic Games Postponement

Paralympics Ireland welcomes the decision of the Japanese Prime Minister, Abe Shinzo and the International Olympic Committee with the full support of the International Paralympic Committee to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games to 2021. The Paralympic Games will now take place at a date beyond 2020 but no later than the Summer of 2021.
Postponing the Paralympic Games is a decision that was not taken lightly and was done in the best interests of the athletes, their support teams and the millions of spectators that were due to attend the games.
Paralympics Ireland supports IPC’s decision and the clarity it gives athletes and organisers regarding the future of the games. We will now implement our contingency plans to ensure that Irish Paralympic athletes will be supported through this process, mitigate the effects of the cancellation and to put in place new programmes to help athletes realign their training and competition schedules.
Paralympics Ireland CEO, Miriam Malone said ‘This was an unprecedented situation for the organisers of the Tokyo 2020
Paralympic and Olympic Games to face and postponement is the only safe option to protect athletes and supporters alike. Our guiding principle has always been the protection of our Irish athletes, their health and their safety and I believe that this decision safeguards our athletes in line with this principle. We are already rolling out our contingency plans for athletes and we will do everything in our power to ensure that our Irish athletes will be able to adapt as seamlessly as possible to the new arrangements when they are confirmed.’

Communications and Marketing Manager, Derek Kinnevey

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) reaction Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games postponed

Following the decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons gave the following reaction:
“Postponing the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak is absolutely the right thing to do. The health and well-being of human life must always be our number one priority and staging a sport event of any kind during this pandemic is simply not possible.
“Sport is not the most important thing right now, preserving human life is. It is essential therefore that all steps are taken to try and limit the spread of this disease.
“The COVID-19 outbreak is now impacting nearly every country in the world and the number of known cases has increased almost five times over in the last 10 days to 375,000.
“At a time when many major communities around the world are in lockdown, with workplaces and shops closed and people urged not to leave their own homes, continuing to pursue the dream of the Tokyo 2020 Games happening this year does not make sense; postponement is the only logical option.
“By taking this decision now, everyone involved in the Paralympic Movement, including all Para athletes, can fully focus on their own health and well-being and staying safe during this unprecedented and difficult time.
“When the Paralympic Games do happen in Tokyo next year, they will be a spectacular global celebration of humanity coming together again as one.
“In the meantime, we will liaise and work closely with our athlete community, National Paralympic Committees and International Federation impacted by this postponement.”
Chelsey Gotell, Chairperson of the IPC Athletes’ Council, said: “From an athlete viewpoint this is the right decision for the athletes, the Games and the wider Paralympic Movement. We all now have greater clarity about when the Games will take place, and this is very welcome news for the global Para athlete community.
“We are happy that the IOC and Japan’s Prime Minster Abe took this decision so quickly. It enables athletes to take a step back and focus on the current situation at hand.
“No athlete in the world wants to go into a major competition, let alone the Paralympic Games unsure of fitness or form. But this was the situation many athletes around the world were facing up to, due to an inability to train or compete in events due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Now that a decision has been taken, it is important that the Para athlete community come together, rally around and support each other during this difficult time. We should also look to use our influential positions in society to encourage others to take the right measures to stay safe during this uncertain period.”
Craig Spence, IPC Chief Brand and Communications Officer

Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, postponed to 2021

The International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee have just announced that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been postponed to no later than the summer of 2021. “In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community”, said the IOC.
“We fully support this decision, and the whole World Triathlon staff is now working in close cooperation with the IOC, the IPC, the Tokyo Organising Committee and all the other stakeholders to help find the best dates for the Games to take place, as well as trying to find answers to all the questions raised by this difficult situation”, said World Triathlon President and IOC member, Marisol Casado.
“We understand that there are lots of questions unanswered at the moment, and we are working in all scenarios to give answers to all of them, and communicate all the different scenarios and solutions to all parties as soon as we can”, she said.
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, held a conference call this morning to discuss the constantly changing environment with regard to COVID-19 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. They were joined by Mori Yoshiro, the President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee; the Olympic Minister, Hashimoto Seiko; the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko; the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, John Coates; IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper; and the IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi.
President Bach and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and what it is doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games. In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.
The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating. Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is “accelerating”. There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.
In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.
The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
Following that decision, the International Paralympic Committee announced that the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games have been postponed until 2021.
“Postponing the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak is absolutely the right thing to do. The health and well-being of human life must always be our number one priority and staging a sport event of any kind during this pandemic is simply not possible”, said IPC President, Andrew Parsons, on a statement
WORLD TRIATHLON PRESS RELEASE

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